The First Course

* The Little Ice Age

*The Civil War*The Latin America in the 19th century

BY: Juliana. Munguia

What is the Little Ice Age?

The Little Ice Age (LIA) was a period of cooling occurring after a warmer North Atlantic era known as the Medieval Warm Period. While not a true ice age, the term was introduced into scientific literature by François E. Matthes in 1939.[1] Climatologists and historians working with local records no longer expect to agree on either the start or end dates of this period, which varied according to local conditions. Some confine the Little Ice Age to approximately the 16th century to the mid 19th century.[2It is generally agreed that there were three minima, beginning about 1650, about 1770, and 1850, each separated by slight warming intervals.[3] The Intergovernmental

When did the Little Ice Age occur?

There is no agreed beginning year to the Little Ice Age, although there is a frequently referenced series of events preceding the known climatic minima. Starting in the 13th century, pack ice began advancing southwards in the North Atlantic, as did glaciers in Greenland. The three years of torrential rains beginning in 1315 ushered in an era of unpredictable weather in Northern Europe which did not lift until the 19th century. There is anecdotal evidence of expanding glaciers almost worldwide. In contrast, a climate reconstruction based on glacial length[12] shows no great variation from 1600 to 1850, though it shows strong retreat thereafter.

• BEFORE AND AFTER. THE ICE AGE

“ How Latin America Changed Independece”

  My name is Juliana. Munguia and I am a reporter of The New York Times. I will be talking

about how Latin America Changed Independence before 1880. The Latin America Independence was between the years of 1807 to 1824. It was political and military movement that ended colonial rule by Spain and Portugal over Mexico, Central America, and South America and gave birth to the modern independent nations of Latin America. Latin America contained two large and productive colonial empires, the Spanish and the Portuguese. Spain’s colonies stretched from what is now the western United States and Mexico to Argentina, while Portugal’s empire was in Brazil. Under the system of colonialism, these territories were subject to extensive and complex networks of control by Spain and Portugal.

The first quarter-century of independent life brought numerous changes to Latin America. There had been an increase in political turbulence, though with important variations among countries, and an increase in the extent of political participation as compared to the colonial era, yet for the great majority of Latin Americans national politics had little meaning. They usually did not take part either in the elections or in the "revolutions." They were still illiterate, still more susceptible to the influence of clergy and rural gentry than to that of partisan ideologues, and still subsisting at a very low level of material comfort, though seldom exposed to actual hunger.

The British influenced a lot in the Latin America culture. The British Culmination of more than two hundred years of attempts by privateers, merchants and ministers to break

into the monopoly of the Spanish and Portuguese empires and to promote Britain's influence there against its commercial rivals, particularly the French.

The Latin America had a lot of wars. This all is before the year of 1880. Many of the northern states were in rebellion and talking of secession, and the Yucatan seceded for a second time. Banditry was common throughout the distressed nation and French and American filibusters invaded the north. Ignoring these ills, the Liberals and Conservatives continued to fight for control of Mexico, resulting in short-lived governments, a lack of central control, and continued civil disorder.

Latin America independence movement

Latin American Independence (1807-1824), political and military movement that ended colonial rule by Spain and Portugal over Mexico, Central America, and South America and gave birth to the modern independent nations of Latin America.

When the independence movement began at the beginning of the 19th century, Latin America contained two large and productive colonial empires, the Spanish and the Portuguese. Spain’s colonies stretched from what is now the western United States and Mexico to Argentina, while Portugal’s empire was in Brazil. Under the system of colonialism, these territories were subject to extensive and complex networks of control by Spain and Portugal.

Both empires functioned fairly well for three centuries. But by the mid-1700s grievances developed among the colonists, who complained about economic restrictions and tax burdens imposed by the imperial powers. Those born in the colonies also resented the fact that European-born residents were favored for important bureaucratic and administrative positions.

There were many reasons why independence movements arose in Latin America when they did. Colonists were influenced by new political ideas from Europe’s Age of Enlightenment, which questioned traditional beliefs and authority and introduced such concepts as limiting the power of monarchs. The American Revolution and the French Revolution, both in the late 1700s, provided inspiration for some Spanish-American and Brazilian colonists to seek more control over their economic and political affairs.

Simon Bolivar

The leader of the independence movement in Latin America in the 1800s.  Known as "The Liberator"

Served as president of several countries in Latin America

Latin America at Mid-20th Century

The postwar world, 1945–80In Latin America as elsewhere, the close of World War II

was accompanied by expectations, only partly fulfilled, of steady economic development and democratic consolidation. Economies grew, but at a slower rate than in most of Europe or East Asia, so that Latin America’s relative share of world production and trade declined and the gap in personal income per capita separating it from the leading industrial democracies increased. Popular education also increased, as did exposure to the mass media and mass culture—which in light of the economic lag served to feed dissatisfaction. Military dictatorships and Marxist revolution were among the solutions put forward, but none were truly successful.

Latin America at Midcentury: A Quickening Pace of Change

  The first quarter-century of independent life brought numerous changes to Latin America,

but not many that altered the fundamental structures of society and the economy. There had been an increase in political turbulence, though with important variations among countries, and an increase in the extent of political participation as compared to the colonial era, yet for the great majority of Latin Americans national politics had little meaning. They usually did not take part either in the elections or in the "revolutions." They were still illiterate, still more susceptible to the influence of clergy and rural gentry than to that of partisan ideologues, and still subsisting at a very low level of material comfort, though seldom exposed to actual hunger.

  There had been, of course, some Latin Americans who hoped independence would usher in

more rapid transformations. Rivadavia and his circle at Buenos Aires are perhaps the most clear-cut example, but Santander at the head of the government of Gran Colombia, O'Higgins in Chile, the Andrada brothers in Brazil, and the men who founded the Mexican republic at the departure of Iturbide shared many of the same ambitions. The decade of the 1820s did in fact see a flurry of reform activity almost everywhere. However, some of the "reforms" had only superficial effect, some were quickly repealed, and, with a few partial exceptions such as Venezuela and Guatemala, the next two decades saw an obvious waning of the impulse to change things. The 1830s and 1840s were typified instead by a preoccupation with the attainment of order and a generally moderate approach to questions of religious, social, or economic policy.

The Growth and Decline of British Interests in Latin America By Rory Miller

'Spanish America is free,' George Canning, the British Foreign Secretary, asserted in December 1824, 'and if we do not mismanage our affairs sadly, she is English.' Almost at the very moment that Canning wrote, the Latin American wars of independence were drawing to a close with the defeat of the Spanish forces in Peru at the decisive battle of Ayacucho. Britain's future in the region seemed assured. The leaders of the new nations regarded diplomatic recognition by the United Kingdom as essential for both their economic development and their political security. Canning's sense of triumph was motivated by the fact that he had finally persuaded his

colleagues to consent to negotiations with Mexico, Gran Colombia and Buenos Aires for commercial treaties which might provide a more solid basis for Britain's trade with the new nations.

Canning's success in advancing Britain's economic interests during the period of Latin American independence marked the culmination of more than two hundred years of attempts by privateers, merchants and ministers to break into the monopoly of the Spanish and Portuguese empires and to promote Britain's influence there against its commercial rivals, particularly the French. Statesmen and businessmen had long believed that the maladministration and inefficiency of the Iberian colonies in the New World concealed tremendous potential wealth, especially in the form of unexploited gold and silver deposits. For mercantilist theorists, who visualized a nation's power in terms of its ability to accumulate bullion, the prospect of breaking into the Iberian monopoly was irresistible. While mercantilism lost its dominance as a mode of economic thought at the end of the eighteenth century, the avaricious capitalists of the early Industrial Revolution were equally tempted by opportunities to sell cheap cottons to people in Latin America who had been starved of access to foreign trade or to gain control of the renowned silver mines of Peru and Mexico.

The first real concessions came in 1810, when the British

Latin American Wars of the 19th Century ( Mexico)

By 1848 Mexico was in chaos. It had been crushed in a catastrophic war with the United States, having to sacrifice one-third of its national territory in order to get the invaders to leave. Many of the northern states were in rebellion and talking of secession, and the Yucatan seceded for a second time. Banditry was common throughout the distressed nation and French and American filibusters invaded the north. Ignoring these ills, the Liberals and Conservatives continued to fight for control of Mexico, resulting in short-lived governments, a lack of central control, and continued civil disorder.

  In early 1853 the Mexican Conservatives recalled Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna from

exile to restore order. They hoped that their patriarch, Lucas Alaman, would be able to prevent Santa Anna from abusing power. However, Alaman died on June 1, and on December 16 Santa Anna abolished the Congress and adopted the title of "His Most Serene Highness."

  While consolidating into his own hands political power, Santa Anna also needed to

find money to guarantee the loyalty of his supporters. As a consequence, he sold to the United States the Mesilla Valley (30,000 square miles) for $10 million. Known as the Gadsden Purchase, the Mexican public was outraged.

 

On March 1, 1854, Liberals in the state of Guerrero proclaimed the "Plan of Ayutla" to overthrow "His Most Serene Highness." Santa Anna marched south at the head of 5,000 men to put down the rebellion; however, Ignacio Comonfort, who controlled Acapulco (284 mi S of Mexico City), withstood an attack and refused to surrender the port on April 20, leaving Santa Anna without a supply base. Santa Anna burned some Indian villages, shot the few Liberals he caught, and then returned to Mexico City proclaiming that the rebellion had been crushed.

 

Mexico during the 19th century

Mexico, in full United Mexican States (Estados Unidos Mexicanos in Spanish), federal republic in North America. Mexico is the fifth largest country in the Western Hemisphere and is rich in natural resources such as petroleum and natural gas. Mexico’s efforts to develop and modernize its economy—one of the 15 largest in the world—have been slowed by the nation’s rugged terrain, limited farmland, a rapidly growing population, and a series of economic crises. The nation’s capital, Mexico City, is one of the largest cities in the world. In Latin America, only Brazil has a larger population than Mexico. 

Mexico is bordered by the United States on the north, the Pacific Ocean on the west, the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea on the east, and Guatemala and Belize on the south. It is characterized by an extraordinary diversity in topography and climate and is crossed by two major mountain chains, the Sierra Madre Occidental and the Sierra Madre Oriental. The high central plateau between these two mountain ranges historically funneled most of the human population toward the center of this region. Mexico features volcanic peaks, snow-capped mountains, tropical rain forests, and internationally famous beaches. Mexico City is an enormous metropolitan area and dominates the rest of the country’s culture, economy, and politics. Nearly one-fifth of the nation’s population lives in the immediate vicinity of the capital. Mexico City is also a central hub for Mexico’s transportation network—including railroads, highways, and airlines. 

Mexico and the United States share a border that is 3,100 km (1,900 mi) long, much of which is formed by the Río Grande, a major river known as the Río Bravo in Mexico. This international border is the longest in the world between an economically developing country and one with a highly developed, industrialized economy. This proximity has influenced Mexico’s internal and external migration patterns, prompting several million Mexicans to move north to the border region or to the United States itself. It has also affected the culture of both Mexico and the United States, fostering the development of a number of communities along the border that mix the cultures of both nations. Mexico covers an area of 1,964,382 sq km (758,452 sq mi). 

The people of Mexico reflect the country’s rich history. The Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire in the early 16th century soon led to widespread intermarriage and racial mixing between Spaniards and Native Americans. As late as the early 19th century, Native Americans accounted for nearly two-thirds of the population in the region. During that century, however, the racial composition of the country began to change from one that featured distinct European (Spanish) and indigenous populations, to one made up largely of mestizos—people of mixed Spanish and Native American descent. By the end of the 19th century, mestizos, who were discriminated against during three centuries of Spanish colonization, had become the largest population group in Mexico. Mestizos now account for about 60 percent of Mexicans. 

During the colonial era, many Native Americans and mestizos adopted the Spanish language and were converted to Roman Catholicism, the religion of the Spanish colonizers. This has provided the country with a greater religious and cultural homogeneity than might have been present otherwise. The vast majority of Mexicans, about 90 percent, are Catholic and speak Spanish. Nearly 8 percent of Mexicans continue to speak one of many Native American languages, the most common of which is Nahuatl. In recent years, Mexicans have moved in large numbers from rural to urban settings; in 2001, 75 percent of Mexicans resided in urban areas, with half of those citizens living in cities of 100,000 or more.